God Grew Tired of Us

This week in Sociology we are watching God Grew Tired of Us, a documentary about the Sudan civil war. Young men were forced to walk over 1000 miles to Kenya to avoid being murdered. As they made their life in a new country they always dreamed of going back to their motherland. Some were lucky enough to go to America to start a new life. Before leaving to go to the U.S. they had many questions about our way of life. For example, "Do you have to go down to the river to get water every morning? What's a shower? Is electricity hard to use?" As they get to America through an interesting plan ride, they are escorted to their apartments. They were taught how use electricity, refrigerators, and even toilets. They asked if all of them slept in one room (meaning two people per bed) and were surprised when they were getting their own bed. These simple questions and reactions made our class laugh, but when you think about it we take so many things for granted. We are so much better off than we say we are. Going through my daily life, I could list many things that others would have no idea how to use or what they are i.e. a phone, computer, washer, dryer, shower, a clock, microwave, t.v., hamburgers, chips, processed foods in general...the list goes on and on. This documentary has opened my eyes to how well off Americans are and I am thankful for all I have. I'm excited to see the ending of the documentary and if they Sudanese will adapt to our culture or if they will want to move back home.